The construction of a new data center is a complex project involving the delivery, installation, and configuration of hundreds or thousands of pieces of complex technical equipment. Data center construction also requires coordinating the efforts of numerous employees and contractors. To complete the project successfully, a company's employees and contractors require access to various information technology resources such as databases, file servers, project management systems, and so forth. For a number of reasons, these resources are typically accessible only through the company's existing secure networks. Personnel at the construction site therefore need some way to access resources on the secure network.
However, the nature of data center construction projects introduces a number of obstacles to achieving secure and cost-effective connectivity between the devices used by personnel at the construction site and the company's existing networks. Data centers may be situated at remote locations with poor existing communications infrastructure. The available communications infrastructure may also evolve over the course of the project. Communication with the company's existing network should, therefore, be relatively unaffected by the underlying infrastructure. There are also important security considerations. Untested equipment may contain viruses or other threats, and should be scanned before being connected to a network. In addition, access to the company's existing network should be limited to those resources needed for the construction project, a task complicated by the large number of temporary personnel often involved in such projects. In addition, the personnel involved in the project are often highly mobile, moving frequently throughout the data center or between projects.